GCSE Computer Science Course Outline Exam Board OCR

GCSE Computer Science Course Outline Exam Board: OCR (This is narrated by Mr Burrows, so it will be helpful to make sure you have your speakers turned on!)

Who should choose GCSE Computer Science? Do I need to be a good programmer? • No, it is not necessary when choosing Computer Science as an option subject to consider yourself a brilliant programmer – all you need to have is a willingness and desire to do your best and the perseverance to keep going.

Who should choose GCSE Computer Science? What will I do in Computer Science? • The course is split between time on the computer and doing written work. • Your grade will be based on two 90 minute exams that you will complete in June 2022. • You will also need to design a program to meet a specification or solve a problem during the course.

Why choose GCSE Computer Science? What skills will I learn/develop? This course gives you an excellent opportunity to investigate how computers work and how they are used. It also develops your computer programming and problem solving skills. In addition it will help develop critical thinking and analysis.

GCSE Computer Science – Course Outline The course has 2 key areas of study: Computer Systems this is more theory based Computational Thinking this is more skills based

Where could it take me? • It could be the first step towards studying Computer Science at A Level or university. • Computer Science professionals can get jobs just about anywhere…game design, engineering, financial and resource management, science and medicine. Watch to find out more • The skills you learn in Critical and Computational Thinking will support any subject in any field.

Good reasons to choose Computer Science: • You are keen to develop your skills in programming and problem solving • Developing Critical Thinking & Computational Thinking skills helps in other subjects • You are determined, persevering and hard working • Computer Science is an EBACC subject and counts as a Science in your bucket Bad reasons to choose Computer Science: • You think this subject is about learning how to design web pages, graphics or spend more time on the internet • You do not enjoy your Computing lessons • You give up easily and lose confidence quickly • You do not want all of your final grade to be based on two final exams

What do our students say about GCSE Computer Science at Westbourne? “Computer Science was a hard subject to start with, but Mr Burrows helped me and I learned loads. It was really rewarding. ” “I loved Computer Science. I found programming hard, but it isn’t all about programming!” “I learned about how to break down problems into smaller steps and solve complex tasks. ” “It was fun to work on computers. You don’t get to do it all the time, but the work was mostly fun. ” “I know loads more about computing now than I did when I started and I feel really prepared for A Level Computer Science. ” “The class was great. Everyone chooses to be there and they all wanted to learn and get on. ” “ Computer Science is challenging – but I like that. You get the support you need to be the best you can be. ” “I liked the way people in the class supported each other and tried really hard to help others get better too. ” “Computer Science is awesome. I love what we learn and how we learn it. ” “I love Computer Science – no other subject prepares you for the 21 st century quite as much as Computer Science!”

Conclusions • The course is hugely rewarding, building character, critical and computational thinking skills and giving you the skills you need for the future. • If you want to know anything more, or have any specific questions, please feel free to email either Mr Burrows or Miss Ince, who will be happy to help. jonathan. burrows@westbourne. attrust. org. uk christine. ince@westbourne. attrust. org. uk • Thank you for listening/reading!